Reply to Thread

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Topic Review (Newest First)

03-09-2009 06:40 PM

oldschoolrods

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldred

Now about that "great" Craftsman warranty, did you try to get yours repaired or replaced?

No I didn't, I remembered seeing its bogus 1 year warranty so it got tossed in the dumpster where it belongs. The new snap on wrench is working great

03-09-2009 10:02 AM

Irelands child

To further Oldred's last post, I went with a friend went to buy a Sears 1/2" clicker torque wrench - 3 out of 3 on the shelf were no good - that is you could wind the handle up to some high torque number, and they would turn free. Of course I still have my back up beam Craftsman torque wrench, but the stamp on it says PA Sturdevant(sp)!!

I have several posts here about my history with Craftsman ratchets - it's bad - and I still have at least three 1/4 and 3/8". As far as their "hand" wrenches, combination, box, etc. it's been pretty good though I haven't done mechanical work professionally for many years. My pro tools which I still have - well they're Snap-on, S-K and MAC. I have no Sears sockets except 1/4". I use them as a commodity item - they're expendable - and I do prefer 6 point as the 12 point round off. My Snap-on's - they're treated with care.

For the occasional home and car maintenance or even as a hobby tool, Sears Craftsman tools are fine - that is all but the ratchets

03-09-2009 07:31 AM

oldred

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldschoolrods

Now this torque wrench was not abused, it was just stored in a toolbox with the handle wound down.

That is EXACTLY the same thing that happened to a Craftsman torque wrench (clicker type) I had! Last year I got that thing down from where it had been hanging on a peg board rack for about 6 months and the handle did just as you described, it had been hanging there with a zero setting and had worked fine the last time I used it but evidently whatever broke did so during the time it was hanging on the peg board! Now about that "great" Craftsman warranty, did you try to get yours repaired or replaced? Mine was two years old and had been used about 4 times before it broke so I took it back to Sears to see if they would repair or replace it and was told that it only had a 1 year warranty. They said they could send it off for repair and recalibration but the cost of the repair (they have a fixed price for that) plus the cost of recalibration, which is NOT included in the repair price, came to within less than $4 of the price of a new torque wrench! I bought that POS when my wife and I were shoping at Sears one day and I happened to find it on sale at what I thought was a good price, good price yeah right, it is now just used as a long handle ratchet and was replaced with the SK that I should have bought in the first place.

03-08-2009 09:47 PM

oldschoolrods

Here is a great example of trying to make craftsman work in a professional environment. I had to go to a remote site to replace a head gasket on a generator that's used for prime power. I grabbed the craftsman torque wrench that had been working fine for a long time out of my box, put it in the van. When i Went to put the head on this particular engine had the cylinder head seal against the thermostat housing, so it had to be sealed with silicone. When I went to adjust the handle on the torque wrench, it just spun freely and slid up and down and then fell off. Now this torque wrench was not abused, it was just stored in a toolbox with the handle wound down. So after having to find a torque wrench and wasting 45 minutes, the silicone did not cure properly causing a water leak, which caused a second trip, and doing the job all over, only the second time I had a new snap on torque wrench. Bottom line do not try and get by with cheaper tools if you use them daily. I sure learned my lesson the hard way

03-08-2009 08:50 PM

oldred

Let's put it in perspective here, obviously Craftsman are decent, probably the best non-professional tool out there, and for normal home shop use they make a lot of sense but they do not belong in the professional mechanic's tool box. It would make exactly zero sense for a home mechanic to go out and spend the kind of money it would take to build up a nice set of Snap-On, Proto, Mac, etc unless they just don't mind spending the money and Craftsman will fill the bill nicely at a good price. The problem with Craftsman is that they do have a high failure rate under heavy use, the ratchets have several problems from just being sloppy to breaking and the sockets (especially the 12 point) will crack with hardly any effort at all. Sure they have a good warranty but that warranty don't mean much when you are losing money because you have to take the time to replace a tool or make do without it until you can. As I have mentioned before I have many years as welder/mechanic in the mining industry and I have seen Craftsman tried a bunch of times but when working beside Snap-On, etc it becomes apparent real quick just how much difference there is.

03-08-2009 08:14 PM

Prairie dog

I have been a mechanic for 30 years now. Don't Like sears tools. I have a Mac tool box. Trade my old one in last year paid 13500 for it and got 12000 on trade in for my new box. I used that box for 5 years . My tool man gave me 12000 for it can not do that with a sears. Snap on are the ones that make a good wrench They make the best line wrench ot there. They are not cheap but I have never had one fail on me. Can not say that about sears. I Like SK and corn well ratchets. If you are going to do the job right you must use the right tool. And this is only my way of thinking. And what is right for me may not be right for someone else. And yes I have had a tool bill for 30 years. and will have one as long as I am a mechanic. Just part of the Job

03-08-2009 01:15 PM

mgold

Craftsman tools are fine! I've never really had any problems using them. I know a lot of people always need to spend a lot to get "The Best" stuff you can buy, but I personally don't care. They are fine for most people. Craftsman tools are used by lots of professionals as other people here said. The warranty means a lot!

Well finally. The Snap-On rep that came by to collect money came thru with the replacement tools....ONLY took 8 months to get warranty on tool. Good thing we had some junkie Craftsman to make a living with.

02-13-2009 02:43 PM

Mr.NutCase

Craftsman tools are ok, but they donít hold well, I have some of their ratchets from new, that suck, I had to take to Sears. They went thru almost 4 ratchets to find that works.
I like the Craftsman ones from the internet/ or catalog.
At school I use Craftsman and Snap On( only ratchets)

02-11-2009 08:08 PM

ntx_gearhead

I myself would be considered a newbie to this whole thing (professionally). However I grew up in a shop with my grandfather and dad and all that was ever used was craftsman tools... many a muscle car, truck, hot rod, etc has come out of that shop with no issues... maybe we were lucky. Hell, I've built a few 350's and done work for years with sears tools with no issues at all. Im leaving the Navy this September after 9 yrs of service and I'm attending UTI (Universal Technical Institute) this fall so I started building a set of tools with... you guessed it, Craftsman tools. I hope my lucky trend continues.

-Gearhead
"Drive It Like Ya Stole It"

02-11-2009 10:15 AM

richard stewart 3rd

Hi RPM,
I Think it might be Snap-ons hard nosed attitude about what the independent tool dealer has to have as the reason why you don't have a dealer yet, a massive truck & inventory witch requires the independent dealer to go into debt for as much as some houses cost, then you have to extend credit to the techs, I don't see why he can't do the same thing in a pick-up or van, give the techs a phone # to an answering machine, need something? call, or a web site, click to order, & you make your daily rounds with some common hand & air tools, along with snap-ons latest offerings, they don't need to have a bunch of boxes & tools with them everywhere they go, use catalogs, fliers, go talk with the techs, utilize the kiss system.
Rich

02-10-2009 09:00 PM

RPM

Well being as this thread got dug up again. Just wanted to let everyone know. That the Snap On southeast rep came by on Jan 7th to get the techs money on accounts that they owe. What was really funny is this was the same guy I talked to months ago. When I confonted him about their piss poor service he did not know what to say. He promised me there would be a rep out in the next few weeks. Well still no tool and still no Snap On truck. It has been over 7 months now. Still no service from Snap On.

02-10-2009 07:28 AM

930dreamer

I'm sure this was stated already. Look at the used Mac, Snapon tools from the truck or Craigslist. Better to not go into debt ever. Shawn

02-09-2009 02:00 PM

Mr.NutCase

The best warrenty is the one you dont have to use,
That is what the snap on man said

This thread has more than 15 replies.
Click here to review the whole thread.